Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
